Destinies and Other Choices
by Etrixan
Summary: Gabriel should have known the Trickster gods would bring him nothing but trouble but it had seemed like a good idea at the time. This started as a one-shot coda to 5.19 and grew from there.
1. Transcendency and Other Misdemeanours

**Title**: Transcendency and Other Misdemeanours

**Summary**: 5.18 missing scene. For centuries Gabriel has been hiding from his family, from himself, but others have seen him very, very clearly. They know what he truly is.  
**Characters**: Gabriel, Trickster gods  
**Disclaimer**: I love them to bits but they don't belong to me.  
**Rating**: PG-13  
**Status**: Complete  
**Warnings**: Language  
**AN**: A general apology for any liberties or mistakes made with the gods who came to visit. It's hard to gain bone-deep knowledge of cultural/religious icons by reading a few articles but I tried.

* * *

_I can't kill my brother_

_Can't or won't?_

Gabriel barely heard the car door open as Dean stepped out. The hunter's words echoing in his mind like something out of a cheap psi-horror film. He heard the door screech and wail as it moved and he couldn't help but feel envious—he wants to screech and wail too.

_Can't or won't…_

How could Dean ask him that, ask him to _do _that? Kill his brother. It's not like Dean's ever really considered offing _Sam_ no matter what reasons he was given. If Sam ever said yes to the Devil, Dean might do something in about four years or so but then it wouldn't be Sam anymore, either, so that doesn't really count at all! The angel nodded agreement with his own argument even as his mind continued the discussion. Why should it be easier for _him_ to fight _his _brother than it is for Dean? Why should it be any different for an archangel to commit fratricide? Not that his siblings _weren't _killing each other with great abandon but that was them and not... him. No matter what meat Lucifer was wearing, he was still Gabriel's brother.

And it's his brother who wants to kill all the humans on the planet… _Shit,_ totally unfun.

"Holy Hells, it's wet out there," exclaimed a voice from the seat next to him. Gabriel turned to see a dark-skinned boy run hands through his red, red hair. The boy flicked his fingers and a big spider flew through the air before latching on to the fabric of the roof. "Think you can turn off the water works there, Nancy?"

"I am not the one responsible, chica," the spider replied. Gabriel revised his estimate: that spider wasn't just big it was freaking _huge_.

"It's _Saci_," the boy rolled his eyes at the talking spider. "You know my name so quit being a bug." He held out his hand. "Hi, you must be Gabriel."

The archangel, not usually at a loss for words, found his mind absolutely blank. He took the boy's hand and gave it a tentative shake. The boy's, Saci's, features told of a South American heritage that had little to do with Cabral and Pizarro and lots to do with lost tribes and dark rainforests. He had one leg and red hair and he smelled awful. And that seemed awfully familiar... like the talking spider. "Have we met before?" Gabriel asked.

"Only in spirit," the boy replied, a smile splitting his broad face. The door beside Gabriel squeaked open. He turned toward the noise just as the front doors opened in quick succession. "Think the Winchesters would mind if I smoke in their car?" he asked in a lightly accented voice.

"If they don't, I do." A young Asian man pushed in beside the archangel forcing Gabriel into the center of the seat. He used a short spear to push aside the hunters' mess on the floor. "And you know Māui hates it." Gabriel looked at the teen a moment before his attention was caught by the colourful bird settling on the back of the front seat.

"If that bird shits on the leather, Dean's going to be pissed," Gabriel said calmly despite the whirlwind going on in his brain. He'd just wanted to go off somewhere and lick his wounds, prepare for the end of the world—little things but important. Instead his personal space was being invaded by birds and talking spiders and strange young men.

Gabriel couldn't help but wonder if this is what his victims felt like when he flipped their worlds over on them.

"Don't worry. I am house-trained," the bird responded in a deep, liquid voice. "It is the twenty-first century after all."

"What has that got to do with anything," the boy, Saci, asked which was a good question actually.

"It means, boy gods don't burn noxious herbs in other peoples' cars and bird gods don't defecate on the upholstery," the spider answered.

Gabriel laughed—what other choice did he have after hearing a spider use a three-syllable word for 'shit'? At least he now had a pretty good idea of who was invading Dean's car and it wasn't looking good for him.

"Well put as I'm not a fan of tobacco either." The speaker was one of the two men now seating themselves in the front seat, He was big—like _Sam_ big—with long blond hair, blue eyes and a nose broken too many times to be described as anything as mild as 'adding character'... butt-fuck _scary_, maybe, but not merely 'interesting'.

"Considering the stuff you put in your body, I'm surprised you even notice." His companion was the opposite. Slim of body, with chiselled cheeks and a blade-like nose, he had golden skin with dark eyes and dark hair. He wore a cowboy hat with the cheesiest band decoration Gabriel had ever seen... and he'd seen plenty. All the man needed was a shirt with F.B.I. stamped on it—Full Blooded Indian—to be even more obvious. "Howdy, Gabe."

"Coyote," the archangel acknowledged. "Anansi," he tipped his head to the spider. "I don't believe I've ever had the pleasure," he said to the Asian youth.

"Zhongtan Yuanshuai," he dipped his head in an almost bow. "Call me Nezha—billions do." His voice was thickly accented but still completely understandable. Gabriel recognized god magic.

"He's from China. I'm from Brazil or near enough," said the boy beside him, "That's Māui. He's from Australia."

"Oceania, actually," the bird corrected.

"Whatever," Saci rolled his eyes.

"And surely you recognize me," said the large blond guy, "After all, we look so much alike, people often mistake you for me."

"Loki."

"Got it in one," the Norse god grinned but Gabriel didn't get a warm and fuzzy feeling from the expression. He didn't think he was supposed to.

An odd fatalism filled Gabriel as he looked at the beings surrounding him: Coyote, Anansi, and Loki he'd heard of—who hadn't?—and, if he had to guess, "Trickster gods. You're all Trickster gods."

Loki grinned at Nezha, "I told you he was smarter than he looks."

"Hardly a high benchmark," Anansi commented and Saci chuckled in appreciation.

"So are you here to kill me?" he asked. It seemed a better way to go out than being forced to take sides between his brothers. He loved them both, admired them, wanted them both to be happy but knew that it wasn't ever going to happen. The last chance for that had flown long ago. And now, if he chose one, the other would feel hurt and betrayed and he couldn't do it. Couldn't... didn't want to, wouldn't have to if Loki and the rest just blew him to bits. He'd even give them his real sword to do it with.

"Why would we want to do that, my fine feathered friend?" Loki responded with a smirk, "You can hardly entertain us if you're dead."

"The slow dancing alien?" Coyote reminded the group, "That was classic."

"Yes. Very entertaining, good choice," Nezha agreed. There were assenting murmurs all around. For the second time that night, Gabriel was left without an idea of what to say. That had been _years_ ago. It was so weird that he was reminded of Broward County, except he was experiencing it from Sam's perspective. Not a nice place to be…

"So you're not going to kill me," he confirmed and looked around the car as the gods all shook their heads, even Anansi, his eight eyes glittering in the lights of the tricked out hotel. "So why _are _you here?"

"Well, all the oh-so-serious gods are inside. Why shouldn't we have our own party?" Loki asked. Gabriel just looked at him. He knew bullshit when it was thrown at him. Loki smiled in return, that same non-comforting smile he'd given the angel before.

Nezha broke the standoff. "Can your fallen brother truly kill them? I know the Norse gods are not fully strong—they have not many active worshipers now—but Kali is believed in by millions, practically billions." The teen god fiddled with his red sash, smoothing it out. "She is a strong god; creator and destroyer. Surely she is equal to Lucifer?"

The archangel took another look at the question. It was the same one that had driven him out of hiding on this god-forsaken night, to try and be a hero. _Did_ the other gods, the ones in the hotel, stand a chance? Unfortunately, the answer remained the same. "Kali might've been able to stop him if Shiva was here with her. They pack an awful lot of power between the two of them, but he's not."

Nezha grimaced, "I think he is on a mountain in one of his meditative phases." Which explained to Gabriel why she was hanging out with Baldur, who was a douche really and totally not worthy of Kali's time. He couldn't mourn for the others, either he didn't know them or he did but didn't like them, but Kali? She'd been special. She'd pulled him out of his self-imposed exile and filled him full of life. She'd had such fire in her.

He almost smirked at his unintended pun except that fire, Kali's favourite weapon, wouldn't work against Lucifer who'd had thousands of years to get used to the heat, become immune to it. "Without Shiva, Kali'll fight and fail," the archangel said sadly. "I didn't see any other god that even came close to her potential so, yeah, they'll all die."

Then his attention was caught by something else the Chinese god had said. "Does that make a difference? Having people believe in you?"

"Hell, yeah," Coyote answered. "We rely on that stuff."

He'd never really thought about how the pagan gods still existed but maybe he should have. After all, his father's followers had done their best to wipe out all traces of other religions over the centuries but their names _had_ been remembered and their ceremonies were written down somewhere for scholars—and Hunters—to study.

"The more people who believe in a god, whether strongly or not, the more powerful that god becomes," Māui explained. "It's like they lend a portion of themselves, their will, to their chosen god."

"The only way to kill a god is to forget all about him, or her," Anansi continued. "Even ones without active believers, like Loki, will retain some power as long as people talk about them, tell their stories, remember their names. We become more vulnerable to harm, though, weaker. It takes us longer and longer to recover. Eventually, we can't. That's when we can be considered dead."

"Thanks for pointing that out, Nancy," Loki said mockingly although Gabriel couldn't tell if it was directed at the African god or himself. Anansi was in no danger of fading out. He was worshipped in lots of places in lots of different forms and he had guys writing books about him even now. Anansi could afford to be clinical about this stuff. Loki couldn't.

"Huh." It was all Gabriel could think of in response. So gods didn't die as long as people believed in them, kind of like that tulpa thing the boys had run into in Texas years ago. It was good news. It meant he didn't have to worry about Kali any more, not really. Even if Lucifer forced her current form to dissolve she'd be back… and probably looking better than ever. He wished he'd live long enough to see it.

He wondered if that power transfer thing worked with angels too. It would certainly explain why Lucifer, not the most power angel their father created, had become Satan. A being so powerful he was able to kill mortals, angels and gods, and raise the legendary Horsemen of the Apocalypse with equal abandon.

But, even though it was an interesting idea, it was also completely beside the point. "That doesn't explain why you're talking to me."

"My goodness," the spider god mocked, "he's rather dim tonight."

"Getting stabbed in the chest by an old girlfriend will do that to a person," the angel sneered right back still half thinking about the power of belief in creating and maintaining the supernatural world and how he could work that to his advantage.

"Nancy's always getting killed. I don't think he even notices it anymore." Saci was smiling as he said it. He'd found some small spheres and was juggling them—an impressive feat considering the confined space in the back seat of the Impala. Although, when Gabriel looked more closely, it looked like the stones were actually falling _through_ the boy's hands but that couldn't be right because there was always the same number circling through the air. He shook the question out of his head; it wasn't important right now or ever... probably.

"What do you want?" he asked again.

"You ever hear how Anansi tried to claim all the world's stories?" Coyote asked instead of answering the question. Gabriel ground his teeth. He hated Tricksters.

The bird chuckled. "He didn't manage it, of course, but he did learn many of them."

"Remembers much of them too," Loki said with a hint of admiration and Gabriel remembered that memory had never been considered one of the Norse gods' strengths. They'd had a creature, someone, to do that for them... or something like that.

"Lots of knowledge is hidden in the stories of common men," Coyote said obliquely.

Gabriel just barely stopped his impatient eye-roll. He'd killed people for spouting cryptic mystic shit like that. Hell, he could barely tolerate that kind of crap from his _father_. "If you guys came all the way out here to swap stories because I've got a good one about alien prostitutes in Atlanta that you might enjoy." Okay, so he didn't stop the sarcasm. They could sue him, or play tricks on him… or smite him which would certainly solve his current dilemma.

"We came here to give you information," said the teen-age god beside him. The boy was poking the garbage lining the floor of the back seat, lifting whatever he'd speared to his face, examining it, and then tossing it at Māui and making the bird god flutter first one way then the other. They both seemed to enjoy it.

Loki batted away a hamburger wrapper that came to close. "We want to help the Winchesters defeat Lucifer and you're our best point of access."

"_You_ want to help. Why?" Gabe couldn't help his scepticism. He knew enough about trickster gods to know they never did anything without expecting something in return.

"The goodness of our hearts?" Nezha said with a smirk.

"Right," Gabriel responded sceptically. "So well, this has been fun but, pretty soon, my brother's going to show up and roast this wiener stand and I'd like to be somewhere else when he get here."

"Do you want to know how to trap the Devil and send him back to Hell?" Coyote interrupted any argument before it could start. "It won't kill him, likely won't even hurt him. He'll be gone and the apocalypse will be stopped."

He stared at the gods sitting in the car, looking for the tell-tale smirk on the lips or glitter in the eye that would let him know that this was a joke, just another prank by a Trickster. It had to be. The showdown between Lucifer and Michael had been prophesied for eons, ever since Mike had tossed their brother down, actually. Now these pagan gods show up with a plan to stop it?

But, as the silence stretched and none of them looked away, Gabriel realized they meant it. They thought they had a way...

"Let's see... save the world, _not_ watch my brothers kill each other... hmm, tough choice. Of course I want to know." He'd meant to sound snarky but instead his voice was oddly wistful.

"Very good," Loki's smile was echoed on the faces of the other gods—even the bird and the spider managed to look smugly satisfied.

Of course, it was Anansi who took over the narration. "Angels are creatures of spirit. They can only be trapped by things of spirit manifested. Life on earth is ever-changing yet there are some elements that are absolute. See how nicely the conundrums dovetail?" the spider god intoned. Gabriel barely refrained from groaning impatiently but somehow Anansi knew anyway. "Obviously not," his voice was dry as the desert.

"There are ideas, drives, needs that are so ingrained in the human psyche that they might as well be the mountains and the skies. You know some of them as the Seven Cardinal Virtues: prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude, and then faith, hope and charity got added later." Anansi's head tilted in thought, "Love should've been in there but the early church leaders got it mixed up with passion and that was too close a reminder to the old Roman empire and its debauchery—" There was a not-so-discreet cough from behind him. "—but that's a tale for another time. Other ingrained ideas you know as the Seven Deadly Sins—"

"I'm sure he's already familiar with those," Loki said with a leer in his voice.

Saci, Māui and Gabriel snorted in agreement. Coyote grinned. The spider ignored them all.

"The Virtues and the Sins balance each other, that is they essentially cancel each other out in terms of power so, for all your brother Michael's good intentions, he doesn't have any special forces to bring to the fight and Lucifer has had millennia in Hell with the demons to learn some new tricks so they, like the Virtues and the Sins, balance each other in strength and intent—"

Beside Gabriel, Saci groaned and saved the angel the trouble. "Get _on_ with it, Nancy or I swear, the next rock goes right through your head."

Anansi huffed in exasperation, "There are four more unalterable, unavoidable truths that exist in this, the realm of impermanence."

"The Horsemen," Gabriel said, enlightened.

"The Horsemen," Nezha agreed. He was twirling a gold ring around his finger, passing it from hand to hand.

"War, Famine, Pestilence and Death," Anansi listed them. "They are essentially neutral because they exist whether or not they have physical form, whether or not people believe in them or want them. As long as there are people living and needing and dying, they will exist."

"But they're working for Lucifer," Gabriel protested.

"They're working for your brother only because he gave them their physical forms," Coyote explained, "_Their powers_ are neutral. They can be used against the Devil as easily as against anybody else."

"How?" Gabriel asked. "I mean, how does that work?"

"Because their powers are _of_ the Earth, they can bind Lucifer back _in_ the earth." Māui answered.

"Each Horseman has a ring that encapsulates its power while they have a body," Anansi picked up the narrative. "They keep the power focussed and allows the horseman to act and think rather than to react and exist. The Winchesters need to collect all four rings."

"They have two already," Nezha said, admiration filling his voice, "Impressive for mortals."

Anansi ignored the interruption, "If the Winchesters can collect all four rings and place them in a circle around Lucifer, the powers they contain will latch on to your brother as the one who gave them form. They'll want their forms back—"

"You talk like the rings are sentient," Gabriel broke in.

"Just call them _precious-esssss_," Saci murmured.

"Not sentient, instinctual." Anansi, as usual, ignored the comments and carried on with his explanation. "It is instinct for any living thing—creature or idea—to want to reproduce, to grow. Small conflicts become police actions that become wars. Wants become desires that become need. Illnesses become outbreaks that become epidemics."

"Only Death feels no urge to expand his territory," Coyote said. "Thanks to Māui there, everyone comes to him in the end." The bird shrugged, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with his fellow god.

"That ring will be the hardest to obtain," Nezha stated. He didn't offer any suggestions on how to get it, Gabriel noticed.

"As I said, once the Winchesters have them all, if they can circle Lucifer, the forces in the rings will latch on to him, wanting to return to their previous form. They will act as manacles draining his power and trapping him—"

"But not killing him," Loki interjected, feeling the need to emphasize that point. He'd never felt any compunction about killing his siblings but the archangel obviously did.

"—in his host body so that he will be easy to send back to Hell," Anansi finished. "The exorcism is a little different from what they know, but it's not beyond their capabilities."

"If it fails, the Winchester's will probably be killed. We'll be no worse off but your brothers might be screwed without their 'perfect vessels'," Loki pointed out pragmatically, "which might make them take a step back and rethink this whole thing."

"Either way..." Saci shrugged. Coyote dipped his head once in agreement, a move that the other gods echoed.

Gabriel examined what had been said, picking it apart, looking for flaws or loopholes. He didn't deny it _sounded_ logical; he couldn't, because it felt familiar, like a tale he'd heard eons ago—or maybe he really _was_ channelling Tolkien. Still, if there was a chance that it could work; he had nothing to gain by not trying, it seemed, and everything to lose. On the other hand these _were_ Trickster gods. No one knew better than self-exiled archangel that Tricksters weren't known for telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help them, whatever.

Unless there was something in it for them... "What do you get out of it, again?"

"We've already told you," Loki said.

Gabriel just looked at the Norse god. What the hell was he talking about? "You're all immortal, that's what you said," the archangel repeated, "So what difference does my little family row make to you?"

Beside him, Nezha sighed and thumped his spear against the floor. "What happens if Lucifer wins?"

Saci answered him, "He wipes out all the humans on the planet because he hates them."

Anansi asked the next question, "What happens to us gods if there's no one left alive to believe in us, to speak our names and tell our stories?"

"We die," Loki answered.

A spear point lightly grazed Gabriel's chin. "I don't want to die," the Asian youth said very seriously and the angel swallowed.

"None of us want to die," Coyote said, "So we tell you how to stuff Lucifer back into his box, you tell the Winchesters, and then we all sit back and let them be the heroes."

Gabriel flicked his gaze over the assembled gods. They all looked either predatory or smug or both. They believed it would work. They _wanted_ it to work. Christ, Gabriel admitted, _he_ wanted it to work too. "One problem," the angel said, although he could think of several but none that these guys could help him with, "Why would they believe me? Considering I've acted like one of... you... every time I've met them, they've got no reason to trust me."

"Because you're going to sacrifice yourself to save them," Māui said calmly.

"For some reason, dying for a cause always seems to inspire confidence," Anansi mused.

"Is that why you let yourself 'die' so much, Nancy?" Saci asked with a snort, "Because it's part of your con?"

If spiders could arch their eyebrows, Gabriel was ready to swear that Anansi did. "It's an effective tactic."

Saci laughed an odd braying sound. He was now juggling about seven glowing stones. They looked hot—really hot. Gabriel turned away. He didn't want to know because, as fascinating the circus act was, the angel had another small objection. He raised his hand. "Uh guys? This may be a good, no… it's a _great _cause, and a good plan, but I don't want to die either."

"You're not going to die," Anansi focussed all his eyes on the archangel, "Just _appear_ to die. There's a crucial difference."

"You would know," Māui snickered.

"Trick Lucifer?" Gabriel said in disbelief, "the Prince of Lies."

"Hel-lo-ooo," Loki said waving his hand in front of his face, "Tricksters." The blond grinned at him and Gabriel had to wonder just how closely these guys had been watching him. Too frickin' closely was the obvious answer, if they could quote that.

"Your brother will be expecting a trick so we give him one. You will seem to be here," Nezha tapped his spear on one side of the foot well, "but it will be false. This he will know so, when another you appears _here,_" he thumped his spear down on the other side, "attacking with your little angel sword, he will assume it is your true form."

"It won't be?" This sounded okay. He wouldn't have to confront Lucifer, wouldn't have to experience his _brother_ killing him—that was good.

"It will be," Coyote crushed Gabriel's small hope, "but you won't be you anymore."

The angel stared at the god. He was pretty sure his head hurt and he had a sudden sympathy for Dean and Sam and everything he'd put them through in the last few years. He knew he looked like a tonne of bricks had hit him because Māui laughed, which sounded really odd coming from a bird, "I think you'll have to expand on that a bit."

"Yes, please do explain, my furry little friend," Gabriel quipped unthinking. Coyote grinned coldly, flashing his too-sharp teeth, and his eyes flickered feral yellow. He tapped his too-pointed to be fingernails on the back of the seat. The archangel remembered that this was a god he was poking at... not _his_ God, of course, but _a_ god, which bumped him up a level of power from an angel, even an archangel... who could be killed while gods, even pagan gods, could not. At least, not as easily.

"How long have you lived among humans, Cochise? One thousand years? Two? And you've been playing a Trickster for much of that time." Gabriel nodded—close enough. "Long enough for the humans to believe in you, even pray to you to bring them good luck or maybe just to not notice them, It gives you some of their power plus you still have your grace inside. . With one little alteration, it will be enough to survive this fight. The change shouldn't even hurt."

"What are you talking about?" Gabriel's eyes were wide, frightened and his breathing was too fast and too shallow. He looked scared. He knew it, couldn't stop it.

"Why, becoming one of us, of course," the bird god said as if it should've been obvious, and it was but still...

It was the answer that Gabriel had expected, given Coyote's explanation, except that he hadn't wanted to hear it. He'd never be able to see his family again. Well... he _would_ but they probably wouldn't want to... or be allowed to... whatever. They were talking about, not just hiding from his family, but leaving it completely, giving up all chance to go back to Heaven with the others once this was all over. _If_ it would ever be over...

_What did daddy say when you ran off and joined the pagans?_

Dean Winchester's little comment floated through his mind. It was so totally appropriate for this because, if he agreed, he would literally be joining the pagans, just as a pagan god rather than a pagan human.

"That's sacrilege," he managed to scrape out of a throat gone tight and dry, "Actually, it's probably way fucking beyond mere sacrilege and into a whole 'nother category."

Loki nodded, "It's reminiscent of what Lucifer did." His voice wasn't soft or filled with sympathetic understanding. The Norse god just stated the fact as if it didn't completely blow open centuries of issues for the archangel.

"Except your brother rebelled because he didn't wish to share your father's attention—" Nezha added.

"—classic sibling rivalry," Anansi inserted.

"Spoiled brat," Saci muttered in counterpoint.

The Chinese god ignored them, "Whereas _you_ would fight to protect humanity. To protect what your father claims as his greatest creation."

"Sounds almost heroic," Loki smiled ironically. _He'd_ never wanted to be a hero but it never seemed to stop the urge from surfacing in the weirdest places.

Gabriel sneered at them. "I never wanted to a hero," he said in an eerie echo of Loki's thoughts, "That was always Michael's role."

"And he's doing _such_ a fine job of it," the South American god sneered in return.

Anansi flicked a leg at them in what Gabriel thought was supposed to be a soothing manner but just looked bizarre in a huge frickin' spider, "As plentiful as your brother's good qualities likely are, in this matter he is allowing his feelings to cloud his judgment. He may be able to defeat Lucifer but at what cost?"

"Millions, maybe even billions, of people dead," Saci added, "All because he's so focussed on proving he's _better_," the god provided air quotes and Gabriel had no idea where the stones he'd been juggling had disappeared to, "that's he's still the good son, the loyal soldier."

"Nothing wrong with being dedicated to the mission," Loki started.

"As long as it doesn't make you act stupidly," Nezha added.

"This is making Michael stupid," they both finished.

"Harsh," Māui said with tilt of his colourful head, "but not exactly untrue."

Coyote turned in his seat to look at the angel fully. "So the question we're asking, my fine feathered friend, is what is really important to you? The two brothers that you haven't seen or talked to in a few thousand years, or the humans you've lived with and played with and grown to admire?"

Loki smirked, "You won't be able to get any of us to believe you don't like them."

It was true, Gabriel did like humans; they were so varied in how they lived, how they thought and everything they did and believed. Not like Heaven where all the angels were expected to be exactly the same, obedient and brainless, like windup toys or trained dogs... that sounded kind of bad when he thought it out loud like that. Disloyal, like he'd already made his decision and he totally hadn't.

"Yeah, but you're asking me to become a god," he hedged, "I'm not sure I'm up to that."

"If it makes you feel better you won't be much of one," Saci snickered. He was back to juggling his lumps of burning coal. Gabriel still didn't want to know...

"Maybe killing you will make Lucifer think of something other than his own hurt feelings, for once," Anansi suggested. "You were one of his favourite siblings if I understand the Christian writings correctly."

"Unlikely," Māui disagreed. He'd been attacked by his siblings enough to know it rarely changed anything. It took cosmic forces—like mothers—to change family dynamics.

"Whatever," Saci muttered.

"Humans have been more of a family to you than the other angels, either the ones up top or down below," Nezha pointed out.

"I left," Gabriel defended his brothers and sisters.

The teen-age god shrugged, "But they didn't try to find you."

The nasty hard truth hung like one of Saci's lumps of coal in the middle of the air, burning away all the oxygen. Gabriel couldn't deny that the young warrior was right. The other angels, his brothers and sisters, hadn't come looking for him. When he first ran away to earth, Gabriel had set up an alarm system, afraid that any angel following him would either drag him back to be punished for his disobedience. It had never been tripped. He'd felt cherubs and other lesser angels but none of his level, none of any of the level that even came close to his. They hadn't cared enough to even _try_ to find him for whatever the reason.

"What do you say, Gabriel," Loki's voice cut through his unhappy thoughts. "Do you want to try to save the world or just let it burn?"

Gabriel sighed. His siblings may not care but _he _did. He'd been beaten as soon as they said he wouldn't have to kill Lucifer. It didn't matter that his baby brother _was_ acting like a selfish, spoiled little asshole having a tantrum; he'd spent too many centuries taking care of him and protecting him, to not try and fix this for him now. Gabriel couldn't change himself enough to want Lucifer dead even though it would probably be the easiest and longest lasting solution. And even the thought that Lucifer would probably prefer being dead to being locked back up in the pit didn't change the conclusion: Gabriel had to protect his brothers from their actions no matter what it cost him.

"So how do we do this?" he asked, "As I said before, Dean and Sam have no reason to trust me and I don't think we have time for a lengthy conversation while I try to convince them."

"First things first," Coyote said, "We need to fix you so you're harder to kill." The god reached over and placed two fingers on the angel's forehead. Gabriel felt a scratch, from his claws probably, and then heat infused him. Heat and a bubbly type of feeling that made him feel like his skin was too small and the world was kind of fragile and—woah—was he floating? He could feel the raindrops and the lightning.

"How'd you do that?"

"Coyote can create things," Anansi answered, "even minor gods."

"Seriously?" Gabriel hadn't known that.

"It's a rare skill for a Trickster but, if you think about it, fairly logical considering that all of us can create, or recreate, reality to certain extents." They all waited for the spider to keep yapping because he always did but this time the god shut up. Gabriel would swear the insect _smiled_ at him. Evilly.

"Okay, so now Lucifer can't kill me. How do we get the map of Mount Doom to the Winchesters?"

This time it was Loki that smiled at him evilly even as his form shifted and changed. He became smaller and curvier. He became a girl; a blonde girl with very few clothes on, and the Impala became a hotel room decorated in the best tradition of cheesy no-tells everywhere.

"How do you feel about being _Hung_-arian?" Loki asked as she rolled over on the bed.

Gabriel looked down at the bright red vest he was now wearing, at the cheap aluminum tray he was holding, and felt the ridiculously huge piece of fur hibernating on his upper lip. He wiggled his eyebrows lasciviously. "This'll work."

_Fin._


	2. Truthiness and Other Virtues

**Title**: Truthiness and Other Virtues

**Summary**: 5.18 missing scene. For centuries Gabriel has been hiding from his family, from himself, but others have seen him very, very clearly. They know what he truly is.  
**Characters**: Gabriel, Trickster gods  
**Disclaimer**: I love them to bits but they don't belong to me.  
**Rating**: PG-13  
**Status**: Complete  
**Warnings**: Language.  
**AN**: After watching 5.21 I just had to add this bit.

* * *

Through the sheeting rain the trickster gods watched the slight figure walk into the hotel. Determination had put steel into his posture and hope put a slight bounce in his step. Gabriel the Archangel, was about to become a hero by saving the girl and maybe the whole world.

"Go, angel dude," Coyote cheered softly. He had no fondness for the Christian pantheon but, right now, there was a lot riding on the archangel's willingness to sacrifice himself. That alone was worthy of admiration.

"I can't believe he believed us," Loki snorted out a laugh, "Considering what we are, you'd think he'd've been more… sceptical."

"Just as well he wasn't," Anansi murmured in response.

"Will it work?" Nezha asked. He was leaning so far over the back seat that Māui had been forced to perch himself on the teen's shoulder.

"No reason it won't," Coyote shrugged, "If he can get the Winchesters to do their part—"

"Big 'if'," Loki interrupted.

"—then Death will do his."

"Unless he was lying," Saci commented. "He could've been."

All eyes turned toward the bird god. "You know him best, Māui."

"That's hardly true." The god fluffed his feathers nervously. His recent meeting with the Horseman still an unsettled, and disturbing, memory.

"You invited him here to earth, I heard," Coyote backed up his South American cousin, "Still talk to him too."

"Obviously," Loki snorted, "It's why Death went to him with the plan."

"Actually, Death contacted me and I went to him," Māui admitted; not even a god could afford to ignore _that_ call, "but it's not as if we had a conversation. He told me about the rings and the Winchesters and then told me to... arrange things. To 'make it happen', as it were." The bird shifted uneasily from foot to foot. "He gave the impression that mistakes or missteps would not be tolerated."

"Sounds unpleasant," the spider shivered slightly. "He'd managed to avoid meeting the real Death for many, many centuries and he wasn't looking forward to the experience.

"He didn't blink, not once," Māui said with a shake. "I think he is very, very angry."

"But was he lying?" Nezha pressed. "Will using the rings actually do as Death says?"

"He had no reason to lie," Loki pointed out. His statement was punctuated by the lightning flashes and rolling thunder of the storm outside. The gods ignored it; they all knew how easy it was to play with the weather.

Saci snorted, "He's walking the earth in physical form for the first time in millennia. Why would he want to leave?"

"The only reason he's got a body this time is because that nutjob Lucifer did some kind of spell," the Norse god argued. "How much you want to bet there were strings like anchor chains on the incantation?"

"Not a thing, not even a dust mote," Anansi answered.

"It's a little beneath him to be a fallen angel's attack dog, don't you think?" Loki commented, "I know I wouldn't like it. I don't think any of us would." The other gods nodded or murmured their agreement. Part of the fun of being a trickster god was not having to obey anyone.

Nezha sat back, reassured that Death had probably, most likely, told Māui the truth about the rings being able to create a cage for the Christian Devil. The bird god fluttered off the teen's shoulder and settled back on the seat with a flick of his wings. Nezha twirled his gold ring idly, still thinking. "Perhaps we should have told the angel that Death would return him only if this works."

Coyote choked out a laugh, "Tell him the whole truth?" Nezha shrugged. He just had a vague feeling that the archangel had earned it. On the other hand, would he have been so easy to convince if they had? "We told him enough of the truth. I just hope they can pull it off."

Saci snorted in agreement, "No kidding. Two little humans with 'issues' and one angel who's losing his Grace against the most malevolent creature in the Christian pantheon? It doesn't look good."

The car fell silent as they contemplated the truth in the young god's statement. The rain falling on the roof sounded like a thousand heartbeats. If this didn't work, if the archangel couldn't get the Winchesters to go after the Horsemen's rings, or if the brothers didn't follow the plan once they had them, then this was it. Humans were doomed and the gods right along with them.

"There has to be something more we can do." The boy god had stopped his juggling, and stared sadly at the stones in his hands, rubbing them lightly with his thumb.

Nezha shrugged. "Perhaps there is a weapon we could find that would work against Pestilence, or even Lucifer." The teen made the suggestion without real hope but it jogged something in the spider's memory.

"Hmm..." Anansi murmured then fell silent. Why did that sound familiar? A story... a recent story heard on the wind...

"What?" Saci prodded, bouncing a stone near the spider's spot on the roof.

The African god jerked slightly, "Oh! Well, it may be nothing," he stopped as he realized it wasn't the weapon that would help, but the one who had provided it.

Coyote bared his teeth in a low growl. "Nothing's what we got right now. 'Hmm' means you've got a possibility."

The spider shifted uncomfortably, "It just that I may I know of someone that could help, someone with as much at stake in this as anyone."

Māui looked over at the African god. "Everyone on earth has something at stake."

"Yes but this one has power of his own and that could be useful. However," the spider continued delicately, "there are problems with starting a relationship with him." It was an understatement and it left it open to the other gods' imaginations to picture the worst possible scenarios. Unfortunately, trickster gods all had _good_ imaginations. Coyote growled a little louder in annoyance.

"Who is he?" Nezha asked for everyone. They all turned to stare at the spider.

"Coyote's met him, although he used a different name then." Coyote lowered his brow, starting to move beyond annoyed into angry; Anansi's description didn't narrow it down much. "Now he's called Crowley."

"The Crossroads demon?" Coyote was astonished. "He's still up top?"

"Indeed," Anansi confirmed. "He's helped the Winchesters before, or tried at least. They might be inclined to listen to him."

"They'd trust a demon?" Nezha's tone was disbelieving. "That's how this mess happened in the first place, isn't it?"

"Crossroad demons aren't necessarily _bad_," Saci said in defence, "I have a cousin who's related to one. He's an okay guy... no sense of humour though."

"Besides, all they have to do is listen, not trust," Anansi assured the teen, "As long as they do one or the other Crowley could be of great assistance to us."

"Yeah, but he _is_ a demon," Māui said. "Wouldn't he automatically be on Lucifer's side?"

"I've already said he tried to help the Winchesters once," the spider answered, "He gave them that gun, the Colt—you know the one I mean, right, Coyote? At least that's the story going around."

"If I recall the gun didn't help," Loki sourly pointed out. The spider shrugged.

"It's a good idea" Coyote announced slowly "A crossroads demon exists to make deals. Without humans, what purpose does he have? What use would Lucifer have for him once all the humans are gone?

"And being a crossroads demon would cover up how he knows things he shouldn't, things we've told him or found for him," Anansi added.

Loki smiled, "With Gabriel out of the picture until the fight is over, having the ear of this Crowley, if he can get close to the brothers, will keep us in the loop, able to take action if we need to." The Norse god nodded happily, "I like it."

"He'll want something in return for his help." Nezha pointed out "I do not wish to be in a demon's debt, not even to save the world." Māui nodded agreement and even Saci, not known for his common sense, looked concerned. "What else do we have to offer?"

It was quiet once again in the car because the Asian god was right: a crossroads demon would not do something for nothing, not even to assure his own survival. That's not how they were designed and they couldn't operate that way.

The rain had stopped and the thunder was distant. The showdown in the hotel was probably well underway when Anansi spoke once again. "I think I will call on my cousin Legba. He may hold a marker or two on Crowley that we can use. They often trade back and forth."

"And his conditions for doing business are a lot less nasty," Saci said enthusiastically. He'd met the Vodoun spirit a couple times, thanks to his cousin. Like he'd said, the man had no sense of humour but other than that he'd been okay.

"They're practically in the same business." Loki joked.

Saci sneered, "Hardly. Christians got it all messed up, as usual."

"Before we start this old argument again, I have a pertinent question." Māui interrupted, "Does anybody know where this Crowley can be found? Surely he'd be in hiding if he acted against the Devil."

"I think I can find him," Coyote offered and his nose twitched like he was already on the scent. "Once Anansi talks to Papa Legba, he can find me and we'll go talk to Crowley." The spider nodded agreement.

There was a loud noise from the hotel, like a muffled explosion. "That was Kali," Loki said. He put his hand up, calling for silence. The gods listened beyond the walls of the building. They could barely hear the conversation in the banquet room, but they heard enough. "I think it's time to go."

"I agree," Māui muttered.

Saci tossed one of his stones up in the air, flipping it end over end. As it turned it changed, becoming flat, dull and metal, like an old coin. The boy god didn't bother catching it just let it fall through his hand into the mess on the floor. Loki raised his eyebrow in unspoken question. "This will allow me to track the Winchesters, not easy with all the angel scratching on their ribs. I'll be able to listen in, find out if they've bought into Gabriel's tale. If they find it, it will look like a demon's coin and they'll blame it on someone else."

"Excellent," Nezha said, "Now let's get out of here before they come out and catch us. Meet up in eight earth hours at my pavilion. We'll be able to talk safely there."

"See you in eight hours," Saci agreed and in a blink he disappeared.

With a nod, Coyote opened the door and slid out of the car. Anansi, much smaller now, sat on the brim of his hat. Suddenly Māui laughed out loud. "Does anybody else think it's funny that we—" a circling wingtip indicated the group remaining, "—a bunch of so-called pagan gods are using angels and demons as our tools?"

Loki scowled, "If this works, I'll laugh later."

One by one the gods disappeared leaving only Māui sitting on the back of the driver's seat. "Ah irony," he murmured, "nobody appreciates you anymore."

When Dean Winchester opened the door of his car, he heard the sound of wings beating but Cas was nowhere to be seen.


	3. Victories and Other Disappointments

**Title**: Victories and Other Disappointments

**Summary**: 5.22 missing scene. They helped get the boys here to preserve their own existences. Now they've got what they wanted it seems a little... lacking. **Characters**: Gabriel, Trickster gods  
**Disclaimer**: I love them to bits but they don't belong to me.  
**Rating**: PG-13  
**Status**: Complete  
**Warnings**: Language, Spoilers for season 5 finale and any episode with Gabriel/The Trickster  
**AN**: Once again, if I've made any glaring errors with the gods that came out to play, I apologize, but they're just too much fun to leave alone.

* * *

"Well, that was... something," the voice was flat, toneless, as if its owner didn't know what to think. Māui ruffled his wings, unsettled.

"Huh," echoed the handsome Asian youth. He was floating in the air, his feet easily balanced on spinning wheels of fire and wind. "So that it?"

Nezha was high enough to look in the eye of the bird god perched in the branches of the tree. The Oceanic god was completely out of place in the desolate forest. For one, he was obviously a tropical bird, with colours bright and blindingly garish—not something often seen in the wilds of the Northern Hemisphere. For another, even though it was late spring, there were no leaves on the trees, not even one late bud. There were the dried remains of growth that had tried but had become warped and decayed even as it hung on the tree. It was as if the whole area was some otherworldly—nether-worldly—zone and life simply couldn't exist here.

"Yes, that's it," he replied. "Lucifer's back in his cage. The world is saved."

"Michael's in there too," Anansi pointed out as if that fact was a special treat.

"He deserves it," said Coyote. He tucked his tail around his paws, firmly controlling its desire to twitch in irritation. He knew exactly how the other two felt: unfinished. And he didn't like it.

The spider hummed soothingly, "No arguments here. Lucifer offered a truce and the sanctimonious ass rejected it."

"Destiny's a mugs game," Coyote sneered.

Saci was staring at the spot where the hole in the worlds had opened up as if looking for signs of the almost-event that has just happened. "But it _is_ finished, right? The Christian apocalypse has been averted?" When he received affirmations from his fellow Tricksters, he sighed. Not that he wanted to hear different it was just… "Does anyone else feel, I dunno," he shrugged, "let down?"

He looked over the Native American god as his reddish-gold fur rippled in a canine version of a shrug. Murmurs of agreement came from the others. Somehow, they'd expected more. Though more of _what_ they couldn't say.

Anansi was dangling on a strand of spider silk, motionless, motionless because no wind stirred in this strange, almost dead place. Already he could hear distant birds. They'd be returning to the cemetery soon no longer pushed away by the presence of the angels. He sighed because soon he'd have to change forms or risk being eaten and he hated changing forms. He was looking out for hungry ravens—the non-god kind because the other was also possible in this part of the continent—so he was the first to notice the new arrival. "Incoming," he said in warning but he was already too late.

"You lying _dicks!_"

"Hey Gabe," Loki said from his place leaning against the tree trunk. "Welcome back."

The former archangel was furious. If it had been any darker in the cemetery, Loki was sure they'd've seen sparks flashing from his eyes. "You fucking _lied_ to me," he stormed. He came to a halt a mere finger-width from the Norse god

Loki grinned down at him. "We didn't lie," he said, "we just tricked you."

"It's what we do, after all," Saci added.

"_You_ said I'd survive," Gabriel spat. It didn't seem to matter to him that Loki towered over him and that the Norse god's shoulders were wider than his arm was long.

"You _did_ survive," Anansi pointed out. "You're here, aren't you?"

Fiery hazel eyes glared at the spider. "And that makes it okay?" he demanded, "My brothers are _dead_ because I listened to you."

"They're not dead," Māui interrupted.

"I can't feel them anymore," the former angel spat venomously, "so, if they're not dead, where are they?"

Nezha vanished his discs of flame and air and landed lightly beside the pissed former angel. "The rings worked—"

"After a fashion," Coyote muttered, tail twitching despite himself.

"Heart stopping," Māui agreed.

Nezha ignored them. "—and Lucifer is back in his realm. The vessel—"

"Sam Winchester," Anansi interrupted. He liked his stories to be accurate, at least when told by other people.

Nezha ignored him too. "—managed to control his body long enough to fall into the void. Michael—"

"Adam Milligan," Anansi said.

"The illegitimate half-brother" Loki explained.

"He was dead," Saci added, "but that creep Zachariah resurrected him."

Nezha didn't bother rolling his eyes; he just talked louder. "When Michael tried to hold Lucifer to this world, the vessel grabbed him and dragged them all into the void."

Gabriel was staring at the young god in wide-eyed grief and horror. "They're both down there?"

"Yes," Māui confirmed, "but they are alive, as promised."

"Although the way Michael was going on about how his destiny was to kill Lucifer, who knows how long that'll last." Saci sneered. He'd grabbed stones from the ground and was tossing them from hand to hand. It wasn't quite juggling yet but it was still mesmerizing.

Gabriel dragged his eyes away and asked his question of Loki, "What does that mean?"

"Lucifer tried to find a compromise, but Michael rejected it saying that killing Lucifer was what he was destined to do," Loki explained quickly. He didn't need to elaborate because he could see the understanding in the new god's eyes. There was a pain Loki recognized from some of his own family. Even now, with them so diminished, they still couldn't always resist killing each other. Often for no reason they could understand once the heat of argument was over.

Māui's voice pulled him out of his sad thoughts. "Considering everything they say about your baby brother, offering to find a peaceful solution was the last thing I expected."

"He wouldn't want to hurt Michael," Gabriel said sadly, "Not really."

"But he would have, and he was quite willing to destroy all humans on the planet in the fight. That, at least, has been averted," Anansi pointed out. He'd dropped to sit on the lowest branch. "Actually, having them fight in Hell makes a great deal of sense. We should have thought of it a long time ago, back when we noticed the forces from both your Heaven and your Hell mucking about in some of the human bloodlines."

"That was _centuries_ ago, and it wasn't _that_ often," Saci moaned, "We're only Trickster gods, not omniscient, all powerful über-Gods." The others ignored him because they'd discussed this to death already.

"What happened to Dean?" Gabriel had to ask. Part of him actually liked the hunter, admired him as one joker to another. "I mean, he did toss the rings down, right?"

"Lucifer nearly killed him, but Sam took control back and stopped him." Coyote said. "He wouldn't let the Morning Star kill his brother so, at the end, he drove off in his car to start a new life." Saci had told the others about the promise Sam had extracted from Dean. Bets had already been laid as to how long _that_ would last.

"That won't make Dean happy," Gabriel said, knowing it was true. He'd managed to have them at each others' throats once but he'd known, even then, that it would take more mojo than he had to break the siblings apart. "Wait," he paused going over what the gods had just said, "_Sam_ stopped him? Stopped Lucifer?"

"Yes," Loki confirmed, a little confused at the former angel's surprise. Where else would Sam have been?

"He said 'yes'?" Gabriel repeated.

"It was the only way they could think of to get Lucifer to jump in," Anansi explained. "It's not like your brother would've volunteered."

"And the Winchesters would've had a hard time pushing him," Loki added.

"Except for the moment back in the old hotel," Coyote argued, "When Lucifer first took over the body."

Māui shook his head, "Lucifer was in complete control even then. He wouldn't have allowed himself to be caught off guard."

"There's always a moment of disorientation," the Native god argued.

It sounded like the start of a familiar argument and Gabriel had no interest in hearing it right now. He held up a hand imperiously, "So Sam sacrificed himself to save the world?"

The other gods looked at each other, exchanging secret Trickster code vibes or something, before Loki turned back to him and shrugged. "Pretty much," he said.

That... was surprising.

Gabriel turned away, unwilling to let the others see the emotions that were running through him right now. He felt odd, off-kilter, like he hardly knew himself anymore. He knew he should've been more upset about where his brothers were—stuck in Hell, at each others' throats for eternity—and he was. Kinda. Mostly it just made him sad that they couldn't, weren't willing to, work things out but it didn't surprise him. Angels only knew one way to think. Or maybe they could only think of one thing at a time. He was impressed that Lucifer had offered Michael an out, and unsurprised that the oldest angel hadn't taken him up on it. But what really upset him, what really made him ache, was the idea that Sam was stuck down there with them, endlessly fighting their battle, all while hurting his _own_ brother, because Lucifer and Michael didn't know how to think for themselves.

Damn it, he _liked_ Sam.

Dean was his favourite—that wicked enjoyment of mankind's idiocies—but he'd grown kind of fond of the younger brother during their time together in Broward County. That thing he did in the morning with Dean at the diner? Priceless. He'd had a hard time keeping a straight face as the verse had gotten longer and longer and he'd always been kind of sorry that he'd never found out what the ruler was for... And he'd made a great Impala.

Who would he torment now? Dean by himself wouldn't be much fun.

"Shit," he muttered. He turned back to the other gods. "We have to get him out of there."

There was a moment of silence as the gods processed the comment. "Get whom out of where?" Anansi finally asked delicately.

"Sam, out of Hell," the former angel answered. He didn't bother being delicate. This wasn't a request.

Saci's stones stilled their restless movement. "We just spent a lot of time and energy to put Lucifer down there," he protested, "You're back two minutes and you're suggesting that we let him out again?"

"Not Lucifer," Gabriel clarified, "Just Sam."

Nezha frowned at him, "They are the same."

"No, they're not," Gabriel shook his head, "not yet anyway. If we act quick enough we can push Lucifer out and Sam will be okay, probably. But at least he won't be stuck down there fighting a battle that isn't his." The other gods just stared at him as if he'd grown another head. He huffed out a sigh. "It just... doesn't seem right somehow; that Dean and Sam have been separated like this, after everything they've been through." There were vague shrugs from the other Tricksters. Uncomfortable movements that proved that maybe they felt the same way, except they didn't really want to care... they were alive, they were safe, why should they put their necks out for a human they didn't even know?

And Gabriel didn't know what to say to convince them which, considering his former job as his father's mouthpiece, was kind of ironic. "It's not fair," he practically wailed and then blushed at having said such a stupid thing. He waited to be called on it.

He didn't have to wait long, Loki was laughing almost before he shut his mouth. "_Fair_? When is life ever fair?" True, Gabriel acknowledged.

"Gods don't deal in fairness," Nezha said. Also true, he thought, but also kind of not.

"We do, in a sort of a way," Gabriel said. "We target the self-righteous, the arrogant, the holier-than-thou—"

"Your brothers definitely qualify on all counts," Coyote muttered. Saci snorted in agreement. He was back to shuffling his glowing stones.

Gabriel latched on to what the Native god had said. "Yeah, they do. And they worked real hard to develop their perfect vessels, messed with the Winchester's and the Campbell's bloodlines from way back in order to get just the right mix." He looked at the group assembled, "Does it seem right to you that they get to keep them. Isn't that kind of rewarding them for being assholes?"

Nezha was shaking his head, "We can't let Lucifer out."

"We don't have to," Gabriel assured him. "It's not like they need actual bodies down there anyway."

"He's right," Saci said. "Hell's a place of the spirit."

"I like the idea of not allowing them to keep the bodies," Coyote mused, "After all, it's not like they _earned_ them."

"They just assumed they should be given them, as if it were their right," Māui joined in the bitch-fest, "as if the humans should feel honoured to give up their bodies."

"Definitely need a lesson in humility," Coyote licked his lips.

"There's one problem with your suggestion, Gabriel," Anansi stated repressively, "We can't get into the Christian Hell to get the Winchester boys out. We are not Christian; we have no access to it and we'd have no power there."

"Well, actually..." The Norse god tried to shrug nonchalantly but it was hard to be casual when you were nearly seven-feet tall. Gabriel had never envied Sam Winchester his height but right now he realized there were some advantages to being average. "My daughter goes there all the time to snag souls she finds interesting and she doesn't get diminished at all." All eyes turned to him. "They sort of share the same starting place so she sneaks over when she gets bored. Her Halls are kind of empty these days."

Coyote chuckled, "I see some traits breed true."

Loki smiled in response. He was rather proud of his stubborn, overly-serious daughter. The Christians had stolen most of her domain when they moved north so, to make up for it, she now steals souls from one of their realms... there was a type of poetic justice about it that appealed to the Trickster.

Nezha had straightened to attention and now he broke into the conversation, "We can get in. How do we find them? Once found, how do we separate the mortal bodies from the angelic parasites? Will we have to fight?" he asked while twirling his spear. Suddenly, it was very obvious that Nezha had been raised the son of a general.

"Hel can lead us through," Loki offered, "She knows how to evade most of the guards and the rest of Hell's denizens know to leave her alone. There may be some fighting but there always is in Hell so it won't raise any alarms." Loki and Nezha share a feral grin.

"And I can separate Michael and Lucifer from their bodies," Gabriel said, "Rescue the boy's souls if they're still in their meat."

"Then we're doing this?" Saci looked around in question. Nezha nodded confirmation. The teen god looked eager and slightly predatory, and Saci swallowed; he wasn't a fighter. Of all of them he had the least battle experience and he'd never been anxious to acquire any. Oh well, he could always hide behind Loki if things went to shit. The Norse god was _huge_; his body equalled five of Saci's with a bit more thrown in for luck. "Okay. I guess we're doing this." At least his voice hadn't squeaked in fear, he thought and his hands moved faster until the glowing stones were a blur.

Anansi laughed, a booming sound that had no business coming from a spider no matter how large. "What a story I'll have to tell! 'How the Trickster Gods Stormed Hell'."

"Yeah, okay," Gabriel snarked, "maybe we can get Gaiman to write about it." This wasn't a _story_, except maybe for that Chuck guy and he didn't count since he was a prophet and had no control over what he wrote.

"Excellent idea, youngster," the spider said happily, either not hearing or not caring that it had been said sarcastically.

"How long will it take? Do we need to bring special equipment?" The young Asian god ignored the by-play, after all they had a rescue to plan and it had been a long time since he'd been involved in a military campaign of any type and he would admit to looking forward to it. Playing tricks on idiots was fun but, in the end, nothing was better than bloodshed.

"Uh, I don't know how long it will take—months, maybe?" Loki answered, "And that's not including how long it will take just to convince Hel to go along with it. She doesn't always like me much."

"Months," Gabriel said in disbelief, "It might take months to get Sam out of Hell." He felt his heart dropping. For the first time since he'd realized that Lucifer had killed him, Gabriel had felt some hope that things would work out—_really_ work out—but, honestly, what would be left of Sam if it took them months to rescue him from Lucifer?

"Better than eternity, bro," Saci dismissed Gabriel's complaint with a snort. Then he took another look at the former angel and his eyes narrowed in consideration. "Still, might as well get moving on this. Sooner started, soonest finished or some shit like that." The boy disappeared from his seat under the tree. He reappeared a moment later, some distance away. "Well, wolf boy, what you waiting for? Lead the way."

Loki straightened his large frame. "You are freaking annoying, you know that?" Saci just grinned and gave his stones a final toss before letting them fall through his hands to the ground.

Coyote was already loping over to the one-legged boy, Māui flying lazily above him. "You shit on me, bird, and I'll pluck out all your feathers," the canid warned.

"Bitch, bitch, bitch," Māui replied at the same time Saci said "Whine, whine, whine." Gabriel swore the two gods smiled at each other even though one of them had a beak instead of a mouth and for the first time he wondered how long this group had been together, working against his brothers and trying to save the world, because the rapport they had didn't happen in a month. They'd been working and he'd been hiding.

Gabriel hardly felt when the spider, much smaller now, landed on his shoulder—Anansi never walked when he could ride. It took Loki putting his hand on the former angel's shoulder to unlock his body. He didn't notice Anansi jumping on his head to avoid being squished under Loki's paw.

"C'mon, Gabe," Loki gave him a little shake, "Let's go break your friend out of jail." For once, the Norse god's smile was gentle rather than cutting, understanding instead of disdainful, but it was what he'd said that had Gabriel standing with his mouth hanging down.

Was that why it felt so wrong for Sam to be in the pit, because he'd become Gabriel's friend?

He remembered the Mystery Spot and the way the large Hunter had stabbed him, even though he'd looked like that old Hunter. Sam had been kind of pissed, of course, but those were hardly the actions of a friend. Still, it had ended well and he _had_ meant it to be a friendly lesson and a warning that destiny couldn't be changed, except both the Winchesters had proved the angels wrong on that point in their own unique way. Then there'd been the whole TV Land thing. Sam had stabbed him then too, and Gabriel hadn't even killed Dean that time.

Still, this time Gabriel was rescuing him from Hell and eternal torment and life as an angel condom. It had to count for something, right?

"Don't worry," Loki was still smiling but now with a hint of mockery. "I'll protect you."

It was enough to jerk the newest Trickster out of his funk. "Puh-lease!" he scoffed, "Like I can't handle one giant human currently inhabited by the Morning Star, Heaven's General in some skinny almost teen, and all the combined forces of Hell...pffft!" He thought he sounded just like a Trickster should but, just in case, it was time to go.

He walked towards the others, letting himself swagger a little. If he acted confident maybe he'd start to believe it was possible. They were going to get Sam—and the other one, Adam Whatshisface—and Gabriel knew it was the right thing to do. In fact, it had to be done—_had to be_—Gabriel knew it in his bones. And this was the way to do it, surrounded by some of the most resilient of the pagan gods. If anyone could pull this off it would be them.

He just hoped, when he finally met up with Sam again, that the Hunter wouldn't have any sharp wooden stakes on him or else it could be a very painful reunion.


	4. Heroism and Other Stupidities

**Title**: Heroism & Other Stupidities  
**Summary**: Fix-it for 5.22, Swan Song. Anansi called their quest 'How the Trickster Gods Stormed Hell' and it was possibly the stupidest thing Gabriel had ever done. Well, aside from confronting Lucifer back at the hotel and trusting a bunch of Trickster gods with his life. Anyway, it was all the Winchesters' fault.  
**Characters**: Gabriel, the Trickster Gods, various friends & relations  
**Disclaimer**: I don't own the characters but I had an idea and just had to take them out to play.  
**Rating**: PG-13  
**Warnings**: Language, irreverence

* * *

"This is a really bad idea. I can't believe I let you guys talk me into this. I'm a Trickster! Heroism isn't my thing." Saci was so nervous he was flubbing his juggling and he only had three stones in the air. It was embarrassing, or would be, if he cared, which he didn't. All he cared about was coming out of this stupid place alive as in 'not killed even once'. "This was a stupid idea," he repeated.

Loki actually growled even though he wasn't the canine. "Saci? Shut the fuck up."

"No seriously. What the hell were we thinking?" There was a soft 'eh?' from the stern-faced woman who led them at a quick march. The small god kept up to the others easily, loping along on his one leg. "We're not hero material."

"Speak for yourself," Nezha muttered. He came from a family of great warriors and he'd fought against evil before when he defeated Ao Bing. It's just that, recently, there had been less need of fighting evil than of teaching lessons in humility to buffoons—an English word he rather liked.

"Okay, alright, _you_ have hero genes in you," the South American Trickster conceded, "And maybe Māui does too, but not the rest of us."

"Excuse me?" Gabriel interrupted, "Angel… as in 'Soldier of God'… ring any bells?"

"Former angel," said the spider on his shoulder, "and haven't fought a major battle in over four millennia if I count the years correctly."

Saci bounced up beside them, "That explains why _you_ thought this was a good idea. It doesn't explain the rest of us going along with it."

"I just like to fight," Loki slipped in. His daughter snorted as if he'd just announced the sky was up.

The African Trickster jumped over Gabriel's head to settle on the shoulder nearest Saci. Gabriel barely managed to control his impulse to slap at the creature that was making free with his body. He felt unsettled, here in his brother's world. It was like sandpaper rubbing on the inside of his skin, and having an eight-legged god crawling through his hair wasn't helping him achieve the serene control angels were famous for. Not that he'd ever been good at calm control but that was beside the point.

"Nobody said you had to be here," Anansi said to the small Trickster, "In fact, you could always head back. I'm sure you'll be fine by yourself. You are, after all, a god." His voice dripped with sarcasm.

Hel, only a pace or two ahead of them, gave a grunt of disapproval and Anansi rolled all of his eyes. Who'd've thought a child of Loki could have absolutely no sense of humour whatsoever. She wasn't wrong though because, even with Saci's powers, he would likely be killed or captured on his own.

Hell was in complete disarray.

Lucifer was back in the box, locked away from all those who would serve him. The old power structure was gone. Azazel and Lilith were dead and the angels, who fell with Lucifer back when he'd originally been cast down, had moved up top in preparation for the battle with Heaven's forces and had been locked out when Sam Winchester pulled Michael into the pit.

There were still demons in Hell but none was strong enough to take control and that was the problem. A lot were trying to take over, too many in fact, all over the place, gathering followers, building armies; each convinced they were the best demon for the job. There were pitched battles and guerrilla wars being fought and the Tricksters were trying to sneak right through it all. Saci was right, Gabriel knew, this was a stupidly heroic gesture and they were all likely going to die... again.

Hel, Loki's overly serious daughter, had done a good job of avoiding the areas with the most fighting but they'd come across a war party or two. Good thing none of Hell's denizens were expecting to come across a well armed party of Trickster gods on a mission. However, the sounds and smell of battle were all around them. It may have been Hell, and these may have been demons dying, but their blood and rotting flesh smelled as bad as mortal remains did.

"You guys are assholes," Saci said with a pout, "We could be here for _days_, maybe even weeks, looking for your friend."

Gabriel rolled his eyes, "Look, what does it matter? You just disappear when something nasty comes close anyway so it's not like they could catch you."

"Of course, if he'd let us steal his cap we could be done with this," Coyote suggested, not for the first time. They'd tried just jumping to where they needed to go but there'd been something blocking them. Only Saci had been able to transport himself.

Saci hopped even farther away from the large canid, hands pulling his red cap firmly around his ears. It was well known that the boy god would grant a wish to anyone who stole his cap. The down side was that the thief would never be able to wash away the smell of stale sweat and farts that permeated the thing. It would cling to his hands for the rest of his life. Since gods live a long, _long_ time, none of Saci's fellow Tricksters were willing to actually touch the red cap.

Anansi had suggested that the little Brazilian god just pretend someone had grabbed it. That way he could grant their wish of being at Lucifer's cage. He'd refused. So now they were walking. The whole way.

When they'd first settled that little detail, before they'd even left Helheim, Anansi had turned back into a spider and plopped himself on Gabriel. He said he'd change back into a humanoid if it became absolutely necessary but why waste the energy in the mean time? For a god and a spider, he was a lazy bastard.

"Are you sure you know where they're being held?" Loki asked his daughter.

"I have a good idea," she answered. It was as precise an answer as she'd given any of the others when they'd asked her.

Māui flew back to them. He'd changed his plumage to something a little less conspicuous but it was still obvious that he was a tropical bird of paradise and completely out of place in Hell.

He settled on Loki's shoulder, since his were the widest, and gave his report to Hel. She listened attentively and respectfully. The dour demi-goddess had taken a liking to the Oceanic Trickster despite the complete mismatch they represented—Māui with his bright plumage and Hel with her stark black and white—and they had developed a good partnership. Maybe she'd told him where the cage was, Gabriel mused.

"We're coming to a tricky bit," she said after talking to Māui.

"Good thing we're all Tricksters then," Loki muttered. Coyote's tongue lolled out in agreement.

Predictably, she ignored them. "There's a big cavern up ahead, a nexus, that we have to get across."

"There's no way around it?" Saci asked hopefully.

She shook her head once sharply. "I usually can sneak around the edges of it but it appears one of the stronger demons has taken control of it. It has the entrances guarded."

"We'll need a distraction then," Nezha mused, "something that they will chase out of the chamber."

"And away from us," Anansi pointed out. "No point in pulling them in our direction."

"It might be fun," Loki disagreed.

Coyote coughed derisively and delicately wrapped his tail over his dark toes. "Not my idea of fun."

"True that," Gabriel murmured. He'd much rather sneak in and sneak out with no one the wiser... too many centuries in his Witness Protection Program to want to act openly.

"Of course away from this spot," Nezha sneered at them, "It would hardly be a success if we all wound up dead, would it? Saci!" He called.

The little god jumped, his stones slipping through his hands. "What?" He looked at the young Asian god floating on his disks of wind and fire and started shaking his head. "No, uh-uh, no way. Not a snowball's chance in hell." Coyote snorted and Loki smiled. The Norse god tossed the small, frozen ball gently in the air. Saci looked at it then realized what he'd said.

"Ah _filho da puta,_" he sighed unhappily. "How long do you need?"

"Ten minutes," Hel stated.

"Ten minutes? Are you crazy?"

"Think of the glory you will earn," Nezha's eyes flashed with excitement.

Saci stared at him; "I don't want glory," he said, "I just want to live."

"Quit being a pussy and just go already," Coyote barked. He'd unwrapped his tail and was stretching, getting ready for the run.

Saci shook a finger at them, "Just this once, understand? I don't want to be no stupid hero."

"So be a smart one instead," Anansi voice smirked.

The boy-god glared at him, "Oh, you're hilarious... for a bug."

"I'm an arachnid," the African Trickster yelled, "Not an insect!" but Saci was already gone.

Māui snuck around the corner, close to where the demons had set up a guard post, settling on a small outcropping in the rough stone, so he was the only one who got a full view of Saci's attention-getting antics. The South American Trickster appeared in the tunnel on the left in a blinding flash of light—with glitter even—and an ear-busting crash of sound—timpani and cannon—but it was the mocking bare-ass dance wiggle that got the demon army riled up. With a roar half the demons charged after him.

Unfortunately, that left the other half still milling about the chamber.

"This is it," Māui announced. "Let's go."

With shouts and hollers, Gabriel and the others ran or flew into the chamber. There were still a few demons in their way but they bulled their way through, pushing into and over the confused demons in their path. Anansi called out 'excuse us' and 'sorry' and 'coming through, please'. It was meant to be ironic but nobody but Gabriel could hear him so the effort was wasted. Or maybe it _was_ working because they crossed the chamber fairly quickly and easily.

Except, as every Trickster knows, good luck never lasts.

They were nearly halfway across the chamber when the ground shook and there was a roar that actually changed the air pressure. A solid wall of demons, dozens thick, appeared in front of them stopping their forward progress.

"I think the boss demon noticed us," Anansi said in a dry tone. They backed into the nearest wall.

"Ya think?" Gabriel returned. Nezha floated just slightly above them. Māui dropped down to perch on a jagged ledge behind them.

"It's actually exciting," the spider-god said, "I've never seen demon king before."

"I wouldn't mind postponing the pleasure indefinitely," Māui commented. He moved to sit on Loki's shoulder; the rock had been uncomfortable. Loki didn't seem to mind.

"It's probably not a king," Gabriel corrected, "Unless it was a self-coronation."

"We can still call him 'lord'," Nezha suggested, "Respect to an unknown opponent often equals survival."

"Because they decide they like you and let you go?" Anansi asked.

Loki snorted, "Because it gives you time to assess their weaknesses."

"INTRUDERS!" Lesser demons scattered, clearing a path for their leader to come charging through the chamber. Another angry roar echoed around the chamber. "TRESPASSERS!" Unfortunately, the roar filled the air with more than just noise because the demon lord's breath smelled worse than Saci's hat.

Coyote whined and covered his nose. Gabriel swallowed desperately, trying to control his gag reflex. Loki did the same. Everyone with noses breathed through their mouths. Soon that wasn't enough. The stench only grew worse as the demon lord roared its way over to them

From a distance it had looked impressive; the so-called demon lord towered over its followers-slash-minions. As it came closer they could see that it had fangs and horns and a tail. It even had bat-like wings extending from its back. If that wasn't trite enough, it was covered in shiny black armour from its neck to its cloven feet.

"That's it! _That's_ the best it could come up with?" Anansi's voice was offended,

"Unbelievable."

"You don't to have imagination to be sent to Hell," Gabriel pointed out

"And if you are a creative genius or an original thinker, Hel plucks you out of here and takes you back home with her." There was a great deal of pride for his daughter in the Trickster's voice.

Embarrassed but pleased, the Norse demi-goddess shifted a little on her feet, "I merely enjoy intelligent conversation." It was the most words she'd ever spoken to them at one time.

"Which explains why she only talks to Māui," Loki laughed at them. The bird god preened.

"WHO DARES ENTER MY REALM?" Gabriel could almost see the noxious plume of exhale envelop them in its poisonous embrace.

"If it proves to be a moron, do we still have to be polite?" Coyote whimpered and curled himself into a ball, nose tucked firmly into his fur.

"We're not here to cause trouble—" Gabriel started.

"I don't mind trouble," Loki interrupted. Nezha murmured his agreement

"—we're just passing through."

The big demon—literally, it stood half again as tall as Loki—leaned over them, nostrils flaring. "I SMELL ANGEL!"

"I'm surprised it can smell anything," Coyote whined, wiggling deeper into his own fur.

"Oh, great Lord Unimaginativus," Anansi intoned, "Please let us pass."

"NONE SHALL PASS!"

Gabriel rolled his eyes because, really? _That _was just embarrassing.

Coyote now had his nose buried in his own butt and it probably _did_ smell better. "You could become a bird," Māui suggested, looking down. "They scent things much differently than mammals."

"Uh, not a good idea," Coyote mumbled from his hiding spot. "Raven doesn't like it very much. He says it confuses the people. And he's meaner than I am."

Māui snorted, "So change into a kiwi. You don't have to be a raven."

"YOU DARE TO IGNORE ME?"

Coyote coughed, "Dude, breath mints."

"Beg your pardon, Lord Stereotypicus. They have minds like steel whatcha-ma-callits." Anansi said in a soothing tone, "Now, where were we?"

"I WAS ABOUT TO _CRUSH_ YOU!"

"Right. That's a good place to start negotiations," Gabriel rolled his eyes.

"All we want is go there," Nezha said impatiently, pointing at the far side "We don't want to hurt you."

"YOU MOCK ME?"

"No, no, Lord Boringus," the spider god assured him, "Well, maybe a little, but we can't help it."

"It's in our genes," Loki backed him up.

Anansi crawled down to Gabriel's ear so he could whisper, "Now's where he says 'prepare to die'."

"_ENOUGH!_" the demon roared, "PREPARE TO DIE."

"Oh yeah," the spider crowed in triumph, "I'm _good_!"

"AZRAGOTH" a different voiced thundered. "PREPARE TO MEET YOUR DOOM!"

With a roar, their demon lord turned to face the newcomer. "BAZRAGOTH! YOU DARE?" he roared again and caused a foul smelling breeze to swirl around the chamber.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me," Anansi moaned. "Azragoth and Bazragoth? Talk about clichéd…"

The two demon lords shouted insults at each other using smack talk they had obviously learned from TV interviews with wanna-be rap stars.

"If another one shows up, will he be named 'Cazragoth?" Māui wondered in amusement.

"If he is, I'm packing my bags and going home," Anansi fumed. "Hell is supposed to be exciting not… not this! This uninspired display of every stereotype known to Hollywood and bad literature."

"Maybe that's why the Anglos consider it Hell," Coyote said, "because it kind of is." They couldn't help but laugh because, yeah, an eternity of _this_? Would definitely be a circle of Hell. Unfortunately, their laughter drew the demon lord's attention back to them.

"YOU!" it roared and pointed a massive finger at them. "I WILL DEAL WITH YOU LATER."

"Oo, I'm shaking in my boots, Lord Insipidus." Gabriel could feel Anansi waving at least two of his legs around. It tickled and the former angel barely refrained from scratching and maybe injuring the spider god.

Then the baying of dogs echoed in the chamber, big dogs, and lots of them and he lost the urge to do anything but curse. "Shit."

"What?" Māui asked.

"Hell Hounds," Gabriel muttered.

"They are real?"

"Unfortunately," Gabriel confirmed. "Once they've got your scent they never lose it and they never give up, like fucking badgers, but bigger." Suddenly a new aroma was added to the demon lord's pungent—but thankfully fading—odour. "Hey Saci, we missed you."

"What are you idiots still doing here?" the little South African god shouted. He hopped on his leg, obviously agitated. "I gave you way more than ten minutes, more like fifteen or twenty."

"A rather unfortunate encounter with a cliché villain," Anansi answered him.

"Followed by a possibly gruesome encounter with a pack of Hell Hounds," Gabriel continued.

"Hell Hounds!" the small god shouted in fright, "How did you attract Hell Hounds?"

"Are they like Temple Dogs?" Nezha asked.

"Not so much," the former angel briefly explained, "Less with the guarding and more with the tearing of flesh."

"I don't do Hell Hounds, guys, not now, not ever," Saci said before, once again, blinking out. Gabriel sighed and wished he could do that too.

He watched the ripples as the invisible hounds moved through the demon horde. He could hear the baying as it grew closer and louder and closer... Then it stopped and there were nearly a dozen Hell Hounds facing them in a half-circle, fully visible in all their evil glory.

"Oh," Anansi sighed, "This is more like it!"

Their red and yellow eyes were lit like the flames of a fire. Their faces and shoulders were lined with horns and spikes. Their slobber was acid that hissed and bubbled where it fell. Their claws cut deep furrows in the hard stone. Their breath smelled like sulphur—which was an improvement actually—but mostly, they were big: size L to XXL. The smallest easily reached Gabriel's hip, the largest would hit his ribs.

Loki laughed. "These are the notorious Hounds of Hell?" Loki asked in disbelief, "These?"

"The Black Dogs of any culture shouldn't be taken lightly," Anansi said. Gabriel couldn't agree more. He was a good fighter—probably they were all good—but considering how many Hounds there were, the former angel figured at least a couple of them were all in for a painful—if temporary—death.

Then Hel snorted and her lips lifted in something resembling a sneer. She looked at her father who was laughing out loud. "No problem," he said, "I'll take care of the puppies and you guys can run for the exit."

"What—" Māui started at the same time Nezha asked "How—" Neither one of them got to finish because Loki, a 7-foot tall Viking, disappeared. His reappearance as a wolf-like creature as big as an elephant caused the group to shift hastily. It was that or be trampled underfoot.

Māui resettled himself on Gabriel's shoulder, ruffling his wings and blowing Anansi sideways. Now Gabriel _really_ wanted to scratch. "You could have told us to move," the bird said petulantly.

Loki opened his mouth in a doggy grin and displayed teeth as long as Saci's leg.

The Hell Hounds looked like tea-cup poodles next to him and they obviously felt like tea-cup poodles because they hunched down and slid their tails under their bellies; a couple even whined submissively. Of course there had to be one, braver or more stupid than the rest, that bared its teeth and growled. It stepped forward aggressively, growling. Loki gave a doggie snort. He lifted one massive paw and casually flattened the Hound. He looked out over the rest of the pack and said "Woof."

The remaining Hounds broke and ran.

Once the gods' laughter died away, Coyote cleared his throat, "You know you're very attractive in that form." The Native American god was once again sitting up, tail wrapped primly around his toes.

Loki turned his snout toward the smaller, much smaller, canid. "Are you coming on to me?"

Coyote shrugged. "My peoples were always more accepting of the two-natured, at least until Christianity came along and ruined them."

"That is also true of my people," Loki responded and his grin widened and became an inviting leer.

Before the moment could turn awkward for the other gods in the room, Nezha flew between them. "This is not the time for fornication," he said sternly. "The demon lord has defeated its enemy and will be returning."

Flying over to perch between Loki's ears, Māui added "His forces already approach."

Gabriel looked up and, sure enough, a dark wave was spilling over the floor of the chamber and it wasn't the half-strength army they'd faced before. The demons Saci had lured away earlier had obviously returned. They'd turned the tide of battle with the second demon lord and now they formed a living carpet that was moving rapidly toward them and planned on killing them.

The former archangel's voice rang out, "Okay, peoples, it's time to split this weenie roast." His voice barely had time to fade before they were running toward the exit.

Gabriel had his angel sword and it did a good job on demons, forcing their component atoms to burst apart as they attempted to escape from the heavenly metal. Loki had changed back into his humanoid form but had added at least a cubic-foot onto his frame so that he was freaking _huge_. It matched the size of axe he swung. Hel had a blade. It was closer in size to a dagger than a sword but it never missed what she swung it at and whatever she hit stopped, withered and died—magic knives for the win. Coyote was just as effective a fighter as the others. It was surprising considering the size of his chosen shape. He was big for a coyote, sure, but still small when compared with the average demon, yet he would dart in and nip hamstrings and calves, trying for the vulnerable tendons around the joints. The crippled demons would fall and be crushed under the feet of their uncaring cohorts. Maybe even breaking a leg or two has the ones doing the trampling tripped and fell over the ones being trampled.

Above them Nezha whirled and spun, causing broken wings and broken bodies, forcing the demons out of the sky. Māui was there with him. No longer a delicate tropical confection, he'd assumed the shape of a gull. Large, aggressive and manoeuvrable, the Oceanic god harried whichever demon looked about to break through Nezha's spear work. A couple times, when he had a chance to look up, Gabriel was certain the two would foul each other—Nezha's weapons were moving so fast and Māui was unpredictable—but it never happened. Nezha's spear would shoot forward, directly toward the bird god, but Māui would no longer be there. Instead, the spear would hit a demon that had magically flown right into its path.

Anansi cheered all them on from his place in Gabriel's hair. "This is just like in one of my stories!" He shouted in excitement.

The former angel ducked under a fast-moving club the size of a telephone pole. He stepped forward with his sword and pierced his opponent's chest. He closed his eyes against the resulting blast. "You could help, you know," Gabriel suggested.

"Not my field of expertise, I'm afraid." The spider sighed unhappily but, not long after, Gabriel noticed that more than a few demons tripped into each other or knocked each other off their feet. He could sometimes see nearly invisible silken strands glittering faintly in the light from an exploding demon. It wasn't ordinary spider silk, which gave the former angel an idea...

Saci appeared in one of the tunnels. He kept himself mostly out of sight but every once in a while he popped out and tossed his stones into the crowd of demons. At first, Gabriel thought it was just another pointless annoyance that Tricksters were famous for, but then Anansi tapped him on the forehead and pointed up. The demons who were hit by Saci's stones didn't get annoyed; they got transported to a spot near the ceiling of the very high chamber and dropped. They fell through the air, limbs flailing, screaming, only to land on the ground with a squishy thud.

On the whole, they mowed down the demon horde as if it were a wheat field, dry and brittle after a drought.

They were so close, nearly safe in the tunnel, when the demon lord jumped over its minions and landed in front of the Tricksters.

"Bet it says 'you will not escape'," Anansi said.

"YOU CANNOT ESCAPE!"

"Close," Gabriel conceded while trying to breathe shallowly to minimize the smell.

"I'm willing to fight my way out," Loki stated. He bounced forward confidently, swinging his axe in broad strokes, but a touch of a wet nose to his arm stopped him.

"Allow me," Coyote said. He moved in front of the Norse god, hopped into the air, and transformed. He was no longer a coyote, not even a man. He had transformed into a huge bird of prey with a wingspan that overshadowed the whole room. He pumped his wings once and the demon horde was blasted backward. He blinked and sheet lighting cleared the demons from the air. "We shall pass," he said and his tone, always deep, was that of the ocean's depth or a mountain's heart.

The demons cringed under its weight. Even the demon lord had to fight to remain upright.

"Our fight isn't with you, Lord Astroturf." Gabriel winced at the nickname. "You do not want that to change."

Coyote snapped his beak and the sound was like a thousand glaciers breaking in a single instant. The walls of the chamber shook and chunks fell from the roof. Coyote beat his borrowed wings and drove the demons even further back. "Go now, before our patience is completely gone."

The minions followed the advice and poured out of the chamber, abandoning their leader with embarrassing enthusiasm.

For a moment, it looked like Azragoth would stand its ground but thankfully, survival instinct trumped innate stupidity and it bounded away on its tacky cloven feet. And if a final bolt lit the former demon lord's trite little tail on fire? None of the Tricksters were going to comment. Snicker, yes. Comment, no.

Anansi waited until the Native American Trickster resumed a human shape before congratulating him. "Coyote, that was inspired," he said. "Thunderbird is very powerful."

"Just as long as he doesn't find out," Coyote said worriedly. "He has less sense of humour than Hel, and some anger control issues on top of that. He _will_ hunt me down if he ever finds out I impersonated him again."

"Don't worry," Loki said, patting him reassuringly, "What happens in Hell; stays in Hell. It's like a rule or something."

"Although you could have done that a little sooner," Gabriel said. He was using a piece of his shirt as a bandage—demon cuts hurt like a mother—so he almost missed Coyote's mumble. "What's that?"

"I _said_ it didn't occur to me." He practically yelled it.

Māui, a bright little bird once again, flew around him to land on the Norse god's shoulder. He may have been laughing, Gabriel _knew_ Anansi was, but before any comments were made a shout from the side of the chamber caught all their attentions. Saci was hopping up and down. "Guys! Guys! I found them!" His smile was visible from here, "I found the cage."

"Excellent," Nezha purred, "I find myself anxious to discover the resolution to our quest." He was cleaning the spear on his sash, the demons' dark blood being absorbed into the cloth. Gabriel took a quick look at his sword but it was clean. Once again he gave thanks for a weapon that cleaned itself.

"All good stories are like that," the spider god agreed. "Did I ever tell you about the time I met up with a crocodile?"

"Did I ever tell you about the time I met up with a dragon?" the Asian god countered and Anansi, outgunned and outclassed, kept his story to himself.

They moved as a unit to the tunnel, bodies relaxed but alert, minds focussed but wary. It reminded the former archangel of fighting beside his brothers and sisters. They'd had the same connection then, working easily in perfect sync. No army in the world had been able to match their professionalism. He hadn't realized he'd missed that until just now.

"You know," Coyote, back in canid form, commented, "Demon meat ain't half bad. Kinda tastes like chicken, barbequed with hickory sauce."

Oh yeah, Gabriel thought sarcastically, they were professionals…

Saci had pulled out his pipe and was puffing on it in smug excitement. He dismissed their boss battle with a casual wave of his hand and proceeded to regale them with the story of the chase he'd led and how he'd found Lucifer's cage. Since his tale looked like it was going to take a while, and his red cap still smelled like stale sweat and farts, it didn't take long for the others to fall away. However Anansi was always interested in a good story and he didn't have any olfactory nerves to speak of so he was an eager audience. As he was still making the former angel his mule, Gabriel got to listen to—and smell—Saci all the way to the cage.

Luckily, it wasn't far.

The opening was warded to keep lesser creatures out but the Enochian sigils didn't work very well on the pagan gods. Gabriel and the rest slipped in with no problem, just a slight tingling on his skin which tickled way less than having a spider crawl around in his hair.

They walked around a corner, into a huge vertical chamber, and they could finally see what they'd been searching for: Lucifer's cage.

It wasn't a literal cage; there was no lock to pick, no bars to cut. It was unfortunate, Coyote said and the others agreed, because physical objects were more easily broken than symbolic metaphysical constructions. In the centre of the high narrow cave, the two angel/human hybrids were suspended in a column of light.

"Oh come on!" Anansi spat in disgust, "I thought we'd left the tropes behind with Lord Banal back there."

"The cautious seldom err," Nezha said floating past them, "Confucius."

Coyote provided the translation, "If it ain't broke, why fix it."

"Caution doesn't have to mean boring," the spider griped.

"But it so often does," Coyote said. He padded a couple steps further, looking at the two figures fighting in the light. "So we've found Samifer and Micham. Now what?"

_Samifer and Micham?_ Gabriel mouthed to himself before shaking off the horror; Coyote had sounded like one of those online fans of the prophet's books and that was something he just didn't want to contemplate.

He looked into the cage at his former brothers and knew they hadn't noticed the gods' arrival. The angels were shouting and posturing and punching each other with terrific force. Their clothing showed evidence of prolonged physical confrontation, shirts ripped and blood-spattered, and all Gabriel could do was hope that they'd healed their vessels even as they'd damaged them. Out loud he said, "I need Anansi and Māui."

"I thought you were going to do it?" the African god said. "Rescue them, I mean."

"I am, and you're going to help me." Gabriel reached up and plucked Anansi from his hair. "This is what we have to do…"

The theory was simple, as theories usually were and he had no idea if it would actually work but he didn't tell the others that, but it's not like they had a lot of choice. They couldn't reach in physically to pull out the angels in their vessels because that would wreck their cage and _that_ would let Lucifer and Michael head topside where they'd continue their fight and destroy the planet. So Gabriel had decided to separate the vessels from the angels while pulling them out of the light.

To start, Anansi spun a web across the spot they were going to pull Sam and the other one out, and Gabriel chanted over it. He used an angelic exorcism that he hadn't heard since the last war between the angels, and the murmured words became part of the silk. To seal the exorcism in, Gabriel used a hint of what was left of his grace. When he reached the end of the invocation, the pair would stop, turn in a new direction, and start all over again. When they were done, the web was made up of rough looking Enochian sigils. It was the most crazy-assed spider web any of them had ever seen but it glowed slightly blue-white in the dark space so he figured it must be working.

While they did that, Māui worked with Saci and Hel to form a rope. Saci juggled bones scavenged from the dead demons, Hel drew their souls or their power—or whatever had animated them—from the bones, and Māui quickly wove the strands into a rope made of pure spirit. Since the rope was metaphysical, it should, theoretically, penetrate into the cage. Since they'd used demon spirit, it should latch on to the angels' grace with no problem, an ancient enmity used for a higher purpose. Māui would then pull the brothers out through Anansi's web. Between the invocation, the grace and the Enochian, there should be enough power in the spider's web to essentially _comb_ the angel out of the vessel.

In theory…

In reality, Tricksters knew all too well how good intentions and best laid plans could get screwed up—mostly because they were the cause—so Nezha was kneeling on the ground, burning incense and asking his ancestors to look favourably on their efforts. Coyote was burning sage, chanting prayers to the Four Quarters, and calling on the Great Spirit to do the same thing.

Loki was propped up in the corner, admiring Coyote's ass. He wasn't much into the introspection. Live, die; win, fail; as far as he was concerned whatever happened, it had been a hell of an adventure.

Lucifer and Michael had abandoned their fight to watch the Tricksters. Lucifer pointed at Gabriel and pressed forward against his invisible cage. He shouted, but Gabriel couldn't hear. Michael poked him and, from the body language between them, Michael asked his brother for the story. Lucifer told him—Gabriel recognized some of the moves as recreations from the hotel—and then Michael punched him in the jaw. Sam flew through the air, hit the side of the cage and bounced back into the middle. Lucifer shook himself and glared at his brother. With a yell he charged the other angel. Instantly, it became a knock down-drag out. Blood flew, making the boundaries of their cage visible before the red burned away.

It made Gabriel weary to see the anger that still existed between the two. Dean and Sam had managed to mostly forgive each other and they were only human. Weren't angels supposed to be more than humans, something better? Then he remembered that he wasn't an angel anymore and that was even more depressing.

A call from Māui told him the preparations were done.

"Ready?" he asked the Trickster. Māui nodded and walked over to stand in front of the web. Gabriel crossed his fingers and prayed to a god he no longer had a right to.

This was the first time he'd seen Māui in human form and he was impressed. The Oceanic god didn't have Loki's height but there was a sense of solidity, of connection to the Earth and the world around him. He looked like a god who had pulled islands out of the bottom of the sea. Pulling two humans out of a cage meant to hold angels should be no problem.

They hoped.

Māui threw the rope and, as they'd hoped, it passed right through the Enochian warding. First hurdle crossed. The rope sought out the bodies, demons looking for hosts, and latched on. It grabbed both at once which was unexpected but a definite bonus. Second hurdle down. Sam appeared shocked, like a current had run through him. He looked up and out at the Tricksters standing around the cage watching. He looked right at Gabriel... and smiled.

Then Māui started to pull and the brothers began to move.

Gabriel could see that Michael was fighting fully against the drag of the rope and he didn't think that was a good sign in terms of there being any Adam left in his own body. Maybe there was still some; they'd have to wait until he got pulled through the web... if the web worked.

Lucifer, on the other hand, seemed to be fighting himself. His face would twist and his hands would clench and he'd take a couple steps forward then he'd stop as if turned into a pole, and the process would be repeated. It didn't take long for blood to start running from his nostril and Gabriel knew the fight was taking its toll on Sam buried within his own body. But it was working...

"Holy fuck, it's working!" Coyote exclaimed, obviously surprised.

"_Filho da puta,_" Saci whispered in awe.

Even Hel gave a small little smile.

_Hang on, Sam_, Gabriel whispered in the corner of his own mind, _I owe you this_.

Then movement stopped.

Michael had grabbed on to Sam's body. He'd braced his feet and, with Lucifer's help, was holding them in place. They could see the sweat starting to bead on Māui's face. Veins popped out of muscles distended with effort and the god grunted like a sumo wrestler as he struggled against Lucifer and Michael's combined strength.

"Shit," Gabriel said, uncrossing his arms and straightening. "We have to do something."

"Like what?" Saci asked. He was hopping again and his stones were spinning.

Hel snorted. "Dead is dead," she said before heading to the rope. She grabbed on and pulled, adding her not inconsiderable strength to the Trickster's.

The angels shifted.

"Too bad we don't have more death goddesses with us," Saci said.

Coyote shrugged. He settled his hat on his newly reformed human-shaped head. "I've been to the underworld. Maybe that'll be good enough." He walked over and took hold.

Another inch... two...

Loki pushed off from his spot on the side. "I've walked the Halls as well. Death doesn't scare me."

The angels slipped even nearer to the web and Gabriel could see Sam's face contort with effort. He struggled against the angel inside him and the angel without and blood ran from his nose in a steady stream. It was joined by a trickle from his eye but he did manage to take a couple steps closer. The gods quickly gathered up the slack before the angels could make Sam retreat any.

Then his progress stopped once again.

"Toss the stones at the cage," Anansi suggested, "Break their concentration maybe."

"Right," Saci agreed.

"Make sure they're not powered up," Anansi said, "They might break through the barrier and then they'd escape.

Saci nodded and threw. The stone hit, there was a crack and a flash. The angels flinched and were pulled a half foot forward. Saci threw another one but this time they were better prepared and they barely moved.

"Shit," Gabriel muttered.

Suddenly, Anansi began to sing, a hypnotic melody that would've been familiar two hundred years ago on most of the plantations of the New World even if the words weren't English. It was a working song, a song for slaves pulling heavy weight over great distances. The gods picked up the rhythm quickly and the angels inched closer. Saci pelted the walls of the cage with stone and coins and long dried bones. He flashed around the cage throwing them from different sides and different heights. He made sure his throws didn't match the rhythm of the song so that the angels could never be sure when the next one would hit.

Gabriel was the only one who wasn't doing anything to help and he knew he had to do something. But what? They already knew he was here so he couldn't surprise them. He could hardly walk up to the cage and moon them. If it had been Dean in there he could've become Dr. Sexy and turned the hunter into a total fanboy.

Actually, that wasn't a bad idea. He was good at TV.

The wall behind him brightened:

...Two small boys sat on a rug running toy cars around and over each other...  
...A healthy baby grinned up at his mother and splashed the water even harder just to hear her laugh...  
...Two boys sat on a couch under a thin blanket, munching popcorn and watching Thundercats. The younger giggled when the older quoted along with the show...  
...A thin boy received a bow and arrow for his birthday and went hunting non-existent rabbits with his father in the deep Minnesota woods...  
...A young man stood over his brother and patiently explained, once again, how to carry when adding...

The memories played out as a mosaic, projected large and in 3D against the chamber's walls.

"A little hackneyed, don't you think?" Coyote called out.

"Remember what Nezha said about the 'column of light as a cage'?" Gabriel responded. Who cared if it was clichéd and trite; if it worked, it worked.

And it worked. The angels looked up at the display, attention caught. For Michael it only lasted a moment, he looked up once then looked away, his mind once again focussed on fighting against the Tricksters. Gabriel sighed sadly. Adam was truly gone.

Sam, however... Sam's emotions fought through the angel controlling him. His eyes fixated on the images, moving over them, absorbing them. Some of them made him smile, some of them made him sad. He stepped forward struggling toward the images of his own past.

Lucifer fought him for control. The body shook, muscles locked. More blood ran down Sam's face. He swallowed. He shrugged his shoulders and he clenched his teeth and used all the stubbornness Dean had ever accused him of to keep moving. He stepped forward, once, twice. His greater strength, aided by the gods on the rope, overpowered Michael's efforts to hold him in place. He was winning. Lucifer made one final effort to take back control—they could see it in Sam's face—but Māui called out, the gods gave one tremendous heave. Sam and Lucifer were caught up in the struggle for control over the body so neither one of them had it. When the Tricksters pulled the rope, they overbalanced and were dragged into Gabriel's web.

It didn't get any easier.

The web sank through Sam's skin, bending and stretching but not breaking. The Enochian sigils glowed as the angel inside the hunter's body came in contact with the invocation that Gabriel had chanted into the silk. Sam screamed, his voice husky with pain. But it wasn't Sam's voice that caught the Tricksters' attention. There was another element, an eerie squeal, like static or worn-down brakes, that flowed under the hunter's agonized tone.

"What is that?" Saci asked. He was covering his ears.

"Lucifer," Gabriel answered sadly, "That's his real voice."

Anansi sang louder, a repetitive chorus. The gods joined in and managed to mostly drown out the angel's screams.

They pulled. The web glowed. Lucifer fought to stay in his chosen vessel. Sam bled and cried out in pain.

Gabriel moved in closer. He had to do something.

Some of Sam's body was out of the cage and through the web so Gabriel touched him, skin to skin, and began chanting: ''_Omni potentas dei potestatum invoco. Omni potentas dei potestatum invoco..._" He continued the invocation, the same one he'd used on the spider silk; it had the same effect. It loosened Lucifer's hold on Sam's body. The fallen angel's grace bulged from Sam's eyes and mouth but it retreated from the Enochian infused web. Instead a shadow of light formed through the back of the hunter's body: Lucifer, emerging as if from a cocoon.

''_Hoc angelorum in obsequentum. Domine expue..." _

Gabriel chanted. The gods pulled. Michael held on. Sam screamed but he did get pulled through the web and Lucifer exploded out behind. The power of the expulsion blasted Michael out of Adam's body and it lay, floating in the light, still and unmoving.

"Cut the rope," Gabriel ordered, even as he moved to obey his own command. The spirit rope shredded and disappeared; incorporeal once again. Without that support the gods toppled over and Sam collapsed to the floor. The hunter panted in pain and tried to curl in on himself. Gabriel checked his eyes but they seemed clear, their normal hazel colour not full-on black. He ripped another piece off his shirt and cleaned some of the blood off the hunter's face.

"Dean?"

Figures the guy's first words would be about his brother. Gabriel snorted; Winchesters, man, they never changed. "He's fine, or at least healthy. You'll get to see him soon."

Sam nodded weakly. He tried to lift his hand to take the cloth from Gabriel but the appendage just flopped around. "Adam?"

Gabriel looked up into the cage. He could already see signs of decay. "I'm sorry," he said.

Sam shook his head, "Don't...don't be sorry," he forced the words out, voice rough and dry. "You saved me," He coughed.

Gabriel didn't have any water to give him. Why the fuck hadn't they brought water? A skeletal arm reached over his shoulder with a canteen. Gabriel took it, sniffed it. It was a beer kind of, not great for an injured guy but better than nothing. He poured a little dribble into Sam's mouth and the hunter swallowed greedily. He gave him some more.

"Don't give him much," Hel said, "It's not really meant for humans."

Gabriel looked up at her. "What do you mean?"

She shrugged. "It's from my halls." It took a moment then he understood. Only dead people lived in Helheim. Anything served in her Halls had been made specifically for dead people. Not for people who were technically alive. Like former angel vessels residing in Hell...

"Oh shit," Gabriel whispered, "Dean's going to kill me."

Sam smiled. It started small then grew. "Why break with tradition?" He asked and then he laughed. He wrapped an arm around obviously aching ribs, and just laughed.

Gabriel thought about all the times they'd killed each other, Dean killing him, him killing Dean, Sam killing him. It _was_ kind of a thing with them, wasn't it. Suddenly, he was laughing too. They'd done it. They'd rescued Sam from Lucifer's cage. He was here, alive and himself. Whatever effect Hel's mead would have on the guy, at least he was alive. The others joined in.

"We should get going," Coyote interrupted, his ears twitching. "I don't think the demons want us here and that demon lord might like to have another go at us."

The reminder that they were still in danger made the Tricksters sober up. Loki bent and put an arm around Sam's shoulder. He helped the big hunter to his feet and braced him while he tried to get his balance back, for the first time in a long time, all by himself.

"How do we get out?" Saci asked. "Go up?"

Sam shook his head, and wobbled dizzily. "It would open the cage if we did that here."

"Back to Hel's hall in Niflheim," Gabriel said.

Loki protested, "That's a hell of a walk with an injured guy."

The newest Trickster smiled, "Who said anything about walking?" He lifted his finger and snapped. He knew where they were going this time. Unlike the trip in, this time the destination was clear and fixed in his mind. He couldn't get them right into Helheim but they were at the crack that separated the two worlds and it was easy enough to slip through.

The halls were plain but at least they didn't stink.

"So what now?" Saci asked.

Nezha twirled his spear before sheathing it on his back. "Now we go back to being what we were."

Hel snorted. "The balance has changed." They looked at her, waiting for more. She said nothing.

It was Māui who finished the thought. "Things on earth might be a little different from when we left. What we did was a hero's quest—"

"And those never leave the world unchanged," Loki finished. His eyes were slitted in thought. "That could be interesting."

"I'm going back to Brazil. I've had enough of this hero crap." Saci gave them a sloppy salute, "It's been a slice, guys," and he was gone.

"Huh," Gabriel grunted, surprised and kind of hurt at the boy god's abrupt departure.

Nezha smiled gently, "He is not suited for a warrior's role and one should never try to force a creature against its nature."

"Yeah," Loki agreed, "for a whiny little coward he did pretty good."

The Asian Trickster spun his gold ring a couple times before pocketing it. "I too must return to my home. If things are as unsettled as Hel says then there might be a need for my skills. Dragons are... challenging creatures, no matter what their form." He gave a slight bow. "It has been an honour to save the world with you."

The other gods responded with varying degrees of formality. Loki gave him a warrior's handgrip, wrist to wrist. Gabriel touched his forehead. Coyote wagged his tail. Māui decided to travel with him, at least for part of the journey, since their paths lay in the same direction. Nezha's disks spun and the two gods disappeared into the wind.

"So, Coyote, do you want to do some exploring together," Loki said. Gabriel had never seen a coyote blush before, but he was pretty sure he was seeing it now.

"You may leave now," Hel ordered. She looked at each of them in turn before adding "It was enjoyable." She turned and marched away.

A large spider jumped onto her shoulder. "Actually," Anansi said hesitantly, "I'd like to stay here, maybe talk to some of the inhabitants, hear their stories." She shrugged; it nearly bumped him off but it wasn't a 'no'.

The Trickster coughed and tried not to sound eager. "Oscar Wilde wouldn't happen to be one of your residents, would he?"

Gabriel smiled. Anansi had sounded like such a geek... It was kind of cute. He turned to Loki and Coyote. "I'm going to take Sam someplace safe, so he can recover in peace. See if Hel's mead did anything to him."

"I feel okay," Sam protested. Loki raised an eyebrow and released him. He wobbled, "Woah, I'm all heavy or something." He lifted his hand and stared at it.

The Norse god chuckled, "He needs to adjust to being all alone inside himself again." He threw his arms wide. "Ah, Gabriel, look at us. We did it. A mismatched, cantankerous bunch of pranksters, cowards and heroes."

"How the Trickster Gods Stormed Hell," Gabriel quoted.

Loki smiled in agreement. "It's a tale for the bards! I think I shall go whisper in that man's ear. You know, the one who wrote those books about Nancy."

"Gaiman," Sam supplied, swaying on his feet, but still awake.

"That's the one!" Loki extended his arm. "They will talk of that old spider for generations because of those books. I think it's time we got a piece of that energy, don't you?" He clasped their wrists, first Sam's then Gabriel's. "Next time you see Kali give her my regards, yes?" His eyes flashed a feral gold and Gabriel saw the huge wolf-creature echoed in the Norse god's eye.

"I'll do that."

Loki nodded then, with a final salute, he was gone as well.

Gabriel turned to the big hunter. "So, you chuckleheads managed to fix the world after all"

Sam chuckled, "Sounds like we maybe put it back together wrong."

"I guess I'll just have to help you this time," Gabriel said softly, "Make sure you do it right."

"Yeah, that sounds like a plan." The hunter held out his hand, "Welcome to Team Free Will. A little late but better than never."

Gabriel stared at it for a moment before reaching out and taking it. "Let's go home, Sam."

In the room the left behind, the air swirled and churned, and the only thing left was a single feather—not white, not black, but something in between. The pedestrian attempt at symbolism would have made Anansi groan in disgust.

* * *

**AN**: So I'm pretty sure, like really pretty sure, that this is it for this series. I have a feeling that season 6 is likely to run a bulldozer through the world I've created. I look forward to the ride. =]


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